Bicycle



Patented Jan. 3|, I899. c. I. TRAVIS.

BICYCLE.

(Application filed Nov. 3, 1897.)

3 Sheets$hoet I.

(No ModeL) No. 6|8,627. Patented Jan. 3|, I899.

C. L. TRAVIS. I

BICYCLE.

lication filed Nov 3 1897 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

Patented Jan. SI, 1899:

No. s |a,e27.

c. TRAVIIS.

BICYCLE.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

//v VE/VTO MK ATTEST wmw UNITED STATES CHARLES L. TRAVIS, OFMINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

BICYCLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,627, dated January31, 1899.

Application filed November 3, 1897. Serial No- '7,256. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. TRAVIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBicycles, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention partains to improvements in bicycles, and moreparticularly to that class wherein means are employed for absorbing andtaking up the shock or jarimparted to the machine incident to itspassage over an obstruction or unevenness in the roadway.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which--Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a bicycle, showing therelation of the hinge connection to the other parts before the parts arecompletely assembled; Fig. 2, a similar view, the parts, however, beingconnected; Fig. 3, an enlarged perspective view of the hinge-joint; Fig.4, a similar view, the parts being shown separated; Fig. 0, a verticalsectional view of the cushioning device; and Figs. 6 to 10, inclusive,detail perspective views.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved cushioningdevice and also to provide a new hinge or yielding connection for theframe.

Referring to the drawings, A indicates the pillar-post or central columnof the ordinary diamond-frame or drop-frame construction, and B thepedal-shaft hanger or barrel carried at the lower end thereof. So muchonly of the forward part of the frame is shown as is necessary to anunderstanding of my invention, and it is immaterial what he the form ofthe forward portion of the frame.

C indicates the rear forks, hinged to the rear of the barrel B, and Dthe rear braces, pivoted to the rear forks C at or near their ends,extending upwardly therefrom and connected to the cushioning device E.

The hinge joint or connection between the barrel 1; and the rear forksis shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4. vided with a rearwardly-extendingweb or flange F, in which is formed aslot G, extending from one endthereof to the other. -A recess II is also formed in the lower lip ofthe flange, but, as shown, is not so deep as the The barrel is formed orpromain slot G. Suitable countersunk openings I are formed in the upperside of the flange, and corresponding holes are also provided in thelower lip.

The forward ends of the rear forks are di rectly connected to asemicircular or curved member J, its rear ends K being reduced andinserted within the open ends of the forktubes, the parts being thensecurely brazed together.

Member J is formed with a forwardly-extending web or flange L, similarto the flange or web F, and it is provided with a cross-slot M and arecess N, said recess being, however, formed in the upper lip of the webor upon that face opposite to the recess II. Countersunkopeuings orholes 0 are provided with openings in the lower lip to correspondtherewith.

Member J may be made in any approved manner, though in practice I havefound it desirable to form it of two halves, the line of division beingin a plane passing horizontally through member J and the web or flangeL, the parts being drop-forgings, which are afterward brazed together.

The connection between the two webs or flanges F and L consists of threeflat steel plates I, Q, and R, superimposed one upon the other andconnected to the webs, as will now be described.

The intermediate or central plate Q extends back into the slots G and M,abutting squarely against the ends thereof,and is secured therein toboth of the webs.

Plate P extends into slot G and is fast at that end; but its oppositeend,which extends into recess N, does not, as shown in Fig. 3, come intocontact with the rear wall defining the recesses, and said end is notrigidly held therein.

The lower plate R extends into slot M, beneath plate Q, and is securedtherein with said plate. Its opposite end extends into recess II, butdoes not come against the rear wall thereof, and is free to move in saidrecess-when the plates are flexed.

Flush-head rivets S are passed through theopenings I and O and theopenings in the ends of the plates, the intermediate plate being securedat each end and the upper and lower plates being secured at oneend'only.

..that of the openings T. The nut V for securing the bolt in place isnot screwed up tight thereon, but is drawn up to such an extent that theplates are held in contact with each other, but still not bound at all,being perfectly free to move one upon the other. This bolt serves thefunction of making all the plates take the same general curve when bentor flexed and relieves the lips of the Webs from undue strain whichwould arise were the free plates P andR not so held.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, I willdescribe the cushioning device E. The lower tubular member a, is mountedin and carried bya, cross-head b, connecting the upper end of the rearbraces D. Member at is internally threaded at its upper end, and into itis screwed a shell 0, the shell being preferably formed of brass andfitting closely against the interior of the tubular member a. Shell 0 isprovided with a head (Z at its upper end, cross slots or recesses 6being formed therein, as shown in Fig. 7, for the purpose of permittinga spanner or tool to be placed therein to screw the shell down intoplace. Before the shell is introducedinto member a a leather or othersuitable washer f is passed onto the shell up beneath the head 01, and ametallic washer g is.

also passed onto the shell. When the shell is screwed down into positionwithin the tube a, the head of said tube will bear against the underface of the washer g and crowd the leather washer f up against the headand slightly outward.

Seated and held within the lower end of tube a, is a ring or collar it,its inner upper face being slightly beveled as shown in Figs. 5 and 8.This collar serves to enter and hold in proper position a brass shell orcartridge t, closed at its lower end and open at its upper end,as shownin the figures just alluded to.

Gap-piece j is formed with a recess in its under face, the side wallsthereof being inclined, Fig. 5, to direct the upper end of spring Z toits seat. Said spring, as will be seen upon reference to said'figure,extends from the'cap-- piece to the lower closed end of 7, within whichit is seated.

The depending'skirt m of the cap-piece is the cartridge threadedinternally and externally, as shown,

and a tube n, of steel, is screwed into the interior of said skirt. Theexternal diameter of this tube is such that it makes a mechanical fitwith the interior of the brass shell 0, as does the interior diameter ofthe tube with the cartridge 1;.

A shell or dust-cap 0, threaded internally v at its upper end, isscrewed upon the exterior of skirt m, and a screw 19 is passed throughsaid shell into the skirt when the parts are in proper'relation, thescrew efiectually prerect contact with tube n is twofold.

venting the shell from unscrewing. Thelower end of the shell is turnedin forming a shoulder q, which will abut against washer g and preventthe'parts from being separated. A yielding washer 'r is placed below theend of skirt m and is held in place by its friction with tube n andshell 0, the washer being employed to prevent damage by upsetting of theparts should the parts he so far collapsed that the skirt could come incontact with the head (1 of the brass shell 0.

The cartridge and spring will of course-be inserted into the lower shella and the tube n projected into the shell cbefore the shell 0 is securedin place. Suitable lubricating ma terial, such as thick oil or Vaseline;will be placed upon the parts before the cushion is closed.

The advantage of employing the brass shell 0 instead of having the tubea come into di- In the first placea brass and a steel surface arebrought together, and this afiords a much better wearing-surface than ishad between two steel faces. The brass shell may, moreover, be removedwhen worn and a new one substituted therefor, and the shell may be moreeasily fitted to the .diam eter of the tube n than could a steel one.

With the construction of the cushion as set forth three distinct airchambers or pockets are formed: first, that included in the interior ofcartridge 11 and the interior of tube 01; secondly, that formed betweenthe exterior of the cartridge, tube a, and the lower end of tube n, and,lastly, the space defined by the upper exterior surface of tube a,washer 1', head d, and shell 0, the shell 0 being screwed down to such adegree that the washer f is caused to protrude slightly and bear againstthe inner face of the shell. I

The lubricating material will of course permeate all the partsandre'nder the air-chambers practically independent of each other.

In assembling the parts they are so arranged and related that normallyand with the springplates in a horizontal line the upper end of thecushion extends slightly up'above the post A, and when the cap-plate jis connected the spring-plates of the hinge are bowed down slightly, asdenoted in Fig. 2. plates then exert a slight tendency to telescope theparts of the cushion and compress the spring therein, which has theadvantage of keeping the parts close together and preventing-anypossibility of the parts hitting or chucking against each other. Themain advantage, however, of giving the slight bend to the plates residesin the fact that so soon as the rider mounts the wheel the spring I iscompressed slightly, shortening the cushionjust enough to bring the.hinge-plates back to the horizontal or their normal position, so-

The

that the plates are under no bending strain until the machine encountersan obstruction and the cushion telescopes, absorbing the shock. As soonas the obstruction-is passed the parts immediately assume their normalposition and the hinge-plates come back 'to the horizontal.

)y the use of the flat plates supported across both ends a very superiorhinge connection is obtainedbetween the rear forks and the pedal-shafthanger. Not only are there no joints to wear, but the constructionprevents and does away with any of the side thrust or give between thefork and the hanger so common under ordinary constructions. From actualuse of the device it is demonstrated that yielding'of the parts at thispoint is done away with and that the rider receives a full return forall power applied to the pedals. The flat surface presented by theplates affords a construction much more readily kept clean than thatwhere the rear forks are connected to the pedal-shaft barrel and bracedto each other.

It is of course to be understood that any form of cushion device may beemployed with the hinge, as described, and I do not desire to beunderstood as limiting myself to the construction of cushion set forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A hinge-jointfor bicycles and the like, comprising a series of superposed platessecured to a fixed portion ofthe'frame-at one end and to a movableportion at the opposite end, the plates being capable of a slightrelative movement lengthwise one to the other, and having their endssupported and held against torsional or twisting strains substantiallyas described.

2. A hinge-joint for bicycles and the like,

' comprising a plate'rigidly secured intermediate a fixed and movableportion of the frame; and a second plate superposed upon said fixedplate having one end rigidly secured and its opposite end held againsttorsional movement but free to move lengthwise a limited distance uponthe fixed plate when the parts are flexed.

3. A hinge-joint for bicycles and the like, comprising a plate rigidlysecured intermediate a fixed and a movable portion of the frame; andplates placed upon opposite sides of said first plate each of said outerplates having one end rigidly secured and its opposite end held againsttorsional or twisting strains, but free to move lengthwise upon thefixed plate.

4. A hinge-joint for' bicycles and the like, comprising in combination,a crank-hanger; a rear fork; a plate rigidly connected to said hangerand fork; a second plate superposed 'upon said first plate and rigidlysecured to said crank-hanger; and a third plate placed upon the lowerside of the first plate and rigidly secured to the fork; the oppositeends of the upper and lower plates being free to move relative to theintermediate plate.

5. In a bicycle, the combination of a crankhanger; a slotted web orflange extending therefrom; rear forks connected at their forward endsby a curved member J; a slotted web extending forward from said curvedmember; a plate extending into theslots of said webs and rigidly securedtherein; a second .plate superposed upon said first plate and alsoextending into said slots; and a third plate extending .into said slotsbeneath the first plate, said upper and lower plates being secured atone end and free at the opposite end.

1 6. In a bicycle the combination of a. crankhanger; a slotted web Fextending rearwardly therefrom; rear forks connected by a curved memberJ; a slotted web'L extending for-' wardly from said member J; plate Qrigidly secured in said slotted webs; plate P secured in web F extendingout over said plate Q and having its free end working in web L; aplate Rsecured in web L extending forwardly beneath plate Q and having its freeend working in web F; and a bolt passing loosely through said plates. I

7. A cushion device for. bicycles and the like, comprising a tube a; ashell 0 provided with a head (1 mounted within said tube; a

washer and a packing interposed between a said head and the upper end ofthe tube; a cap -.piece; a tube n extending down from said cap-pieceinto the shell 0; a sleeve 0 also extending down from said cap-pieceoutside of the head and packing; an inturned projection upon said sleeve0 at its lower end; and means for securing said sleeve to the cap.

8. A cushion device for bicycles and the like, comprising a tube a; ashell 0 provided with a head d having cross-slots e, mounted within saidtube; a washer and a packing interposed between said head and the upperend of the tube; a cap-piece; a tube n extending down from saidcap-piece into shell 0; a sleeve 0 also extending down from saidcap-piece outside of the head and packing; an inturned projection uponsaid sleeve at its lower end; a cartridge *5; and a spring extendingfrom the bottom of the cartridge to the cap-piece.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

CHARLES L. TRAVIS.

